PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Out on the edge of summer rides a rain train that is waiting to come in sometime during the fall months. In the meantime, we are going to keep the dry forecast going around Portland.
That also means it is unlikely the rest of the state is picking up on much rain, too. It’s not unheard of for this time of the year to be running on a major dry count, but we are nearing a Top 5 list that you aren’t exactly excited for.
Right now, Portland has seen 47 days without measurable rain. There have been a few cells that have brought in a trace of rain, but that doesn’t count when we are measuring our summer rain. We need to see at least 0.01 inches of rain.
You can do the math: We haven’t had rain all month. You have to go back to early July for the last measurable rain event.
Here is a list that doesn’t change very often, but may by the time we wrap up the month of August. If we finish the month completely dry that will put us at 56 days in Portland.
What if the start of September is dry? Well, it’s completely plausible to find this summer as Number 2 on this by September 7, 2022. If you really focus on the list, you can see that most of the record dry streaks happen from late June to late August. This is when the dry summer pattern really takes a tight grip on the Pacific Northwest (PNW).
Check out the observed rain for Portland going back to the first of the month. We are currently 0.33 inches below our average for the month of August. Even with no rain for 22 days, there isn’t a significant departure.
One biting thunderstorm could put us right back on track but that doesn’t necessarily help out the greater picture of needing sweeping rain. There were four days where we picked up a trace of rain this month. Other than that, it’s been completely dry, aiding to that dry streak above.
With such a dry July and August, you would maybe think we are on the list of notable dry summer years. Well, not the case, because of our soaking June that kicked off our summer stats.
There have been some years where we haven’t collected an inch of rain all summer (June, July, August). There have been a few summers where Portland barely collected a half-inch of rain!
The driest summer on record is 1951, where the Portland Airport only brought in 0.33 inches of rain. Not much to brag about here.
IS THERE RAIN ON THE WAY?
A reasonable question these days as we approach 50 days without rain.
There is a small chance that we may squeeze out some drops come Saturday. The situation doesn’t seem like it will be enough to conclude our dry streak here in Portland. There is a trough dipping down from the north on Saturday. This will open the door for the marine layer to move inland, while also creating a path for some light rain. This is unlikely after the morning hours as the sun will break through for a pleasant afternoon. You can swipe through the slideshow below to get an early look at Saturday morning’s forecast.
